Can't have AI Impact if you shrink right to information, Pg15

Key Highlights:

• The India AI Impact Summit is being held from February 16-20, 2026, with the theme of shaping AI for humanity and inclusive growth.
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA), enacted in 2023 and notified on November 14, 2025, is criticized for undermining the Right to Information (RTI).
• Amendment 44(3) of the DPDPA mandates that no "personal information" can be disclosed, effectively transforming the RTI Act into a tool to deny information.
• Critics argue that the DPDPA's wide powers and exemptions for the state, along with its technical consent requirements, make the summit's objectives seem hollow.

Detailed Insights:

• The RTI Act was designed to empower citizens by providing access to information, fighting corruption, and challenging the abuse of power.
• The RTI Act included a carefully balanced approach to protecting privacy, defining it as personal information with no relationship to public activity or interest, and allowing for public interest overrides.
• The DPDPA defines personal data broadly, encompassing identifiers like name, address, and photograph, and grants significant control to a government-controlled board.
• The DPDPA's expansive definition of digital data, data fiduciaries, and data breaches, coupled with potentially large fines, creates a chilling effect on information access.
• The DPDPA's amendment conflates the private with the personal, obstructing access to meaningful information and undermining the original intent of the RTI Act.
• Concerns are raised that the DPDPA empowers big data companies and the state while limiting citizens' ability to access and process information for public purposes.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Right to Information (RTI): A fundamental right ensuring citizens' access to government-held information, promoting transparency and accountability.
• Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA): Legislation regulating the processing of digital personal data, intended to protect individuals' privacy rights.
• Data Fiduciary: Any entity that processes personal data on behalf of another, as defined under the DPDPA.